Finding Hope
by Xandria Nirvana
Summary: DMHP, How years after Hogwarts and the end of the war, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter can find salvation with in each other. With the Help for mechanical cupids and several cartons of smashed eggs. PG13 for abuse, alcohol, and my rantings about valentines


Finding Hope

Draco Malfoy hated Valentine's Day with a passion, every one was always so cheery and happy and... pink. Draco Malfoy hated pink. There were a lot of things Draco Malfoy hated, but holidays were very close to the top of that list, and Valentine's Day was only topped by Christmas, but that's a story for a different time; at the moment he's hating Valentine's Day.

Draco shuffled down the sidewalk, a grocery bag clutched in his hand, trying to ignore the violent patches of pink and red that kept catching the edges of his vision. He was trying so hard to not look at them that he completely missed the person who was staring at them in fascination, and crashed head long onto said person, falling on his back and sending his bags flying. He winced as he heard the sickening crash that could only be his eggs breaking. He jumped when someone pulled him to his feet.

"I'm so sorry, stupid of me, so sorry, shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the sidewalk," a sickeningly familiar voice apologized profusely.

"Harry?" he gasped, as the other man shoved his bags into his arms.

The other man looked at him. "Er…hello," he said, clearly trying to place this man, who seemed to know him well enough to call him by his first name.

Had Draco really changed so much that not even his childhood sweetheart could not recognize him? Yes, he was not as well kept, and he was thinner, and granted, there were bags under his eyes, but surely this man of all men would be able to recognize him. "Never mind," he stammered quickly. "Thank you." He gestured to his bags. "Have a nice Valentine's," he said, trying not to sound bitter. It really was the last thing he needed today; he was well aware that he still loved the man in front of him, but the chances that Harry had not moved on were almost non-existent, and there was no reason to get his hopes up. He hoisted the bags up and winced as the slime from his eggs smeared on his shirt; it was _cold. _"I really need to be going, good bye H-Sir." He hurried off, mentally pounding himself for almost slipping.

Previously….

As much as he missed having it to share with someone – 'Draco,' a voice muttered in his head; Harry shushed it. Harry loved Valentine's Day. At the moment he was watching the mechanical cupids as they spun in the window of the shop. He was preoccupied, but still it was most probably the fault of the man who crashed into him that he, well, crashed into him.

Jumping, Harry gasped as the cloaked man fell to the ground, and swore as his grocery bags fell with him. As he helped the man up he tried to figure out if he knew him. Automatically his mouth opened and started apologizing: "I'm so sorry, stupid of me, so sorry, shouldn't have been standing the middle of the sidewalk," he said, bending down to pick up the man's bags and handing them to him. The man had gone pale and was staring at him.

"Harry?" Harry looked at the man trying to figure out who it was. He was familiar, but it was dark, and his eyes had yet to adjust from the bright shop window lights.

"Er…hello," he mumbled, still trying to figure out to whom he was talking.

The other man interrupted his thoughts. "Never mind," he said. "Thank you." He tried to gesture to the bags and failed as they slipped even more. "Have a nice Valentine's. I really need to be going, good bye H-Sir."

The man obviously knew him, and didn't want him to know it; Harry was curious now. He followed the man as he went through the streets of London, into a dark alleyway and to the back door of a very beat up apartment building.

"Where have you been!" a sharp slurred male voice said from inside.

"The store." He recognized that voice as the man who had bumped in to him. "And I'm going back, the eggs are broken."

There was a clatter and the sound of something splashing. "Why are they broken and where's the wine?"

Harry's trained ears picked up the sound of swearing and a small gasp of fear, as the man who had bumped him came hurrying out through the door. "God damn it, how the hell'd I forget his wine?"

Harry didn't wait for the man to see him. Silently he apparated to the alleyway next door to the flying cupids' window and went back to staring at them, only half hoping the man was going to the same store as before, and half knowing it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't really paying attention to the cupids, and he didn't even notice when they stopped moving. He did however notice when the man smashed into him again.

"Ow." The man gasped as he fell to the floor for the third time in half an hour. He managed to catch the wine, but the eggs fell and shattered again. He looked up at Harry and swore under his breath. "How long can you stand to look at those horrid pink flying things?" he asked, not sure why he didn't just run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

"I stopped a while ago." Harry's voice was like music to his ears, but he stopped that thought before it was finished forming.

"Then why on earth are you still standing there? Are you trying to knock people on their asses?" he demanded, the strain of a very long day catching up with him at last.

"I hardly expected you to come by again, and most people watch where they're going. Now I'll buy you another batch of eggs, as that's the second batch I've ruined for you tonight, but then I really must get going."

"I don't need you to buy me anything, I would however appreciate it if you would kindly move out of my way!"

Harry continued to study him, and did not move out of the way. Instead he exclaimed: "Draco!" and Draco bolted, the bottle of wine still clutched in his hand. He wanted nothing more than to be home and safe; not that home was safe, and for that matter, it was hardly home at all. He gasped as he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and fell. The bottle of wine smashed and he looked at it in dismay. "It can't mean that much to you; no offence meant, Draco, but it's not a very good wine. If you'd like I'll buy you a decent glass; there's a very nice bar just round the corner."

"No thank you, I'll let you get back to whoever it was you were rushing home to."

"What gave you the idea I was rushing home to someone, the movie I wanted to see was starting soon s'all. I'm not meeting anyone, though you probably are, though I would recommend a better bottle if you are - not very nice to serve guests cheap wine. I thought you knew better."

"I can't go out, there's wine all down my front," Draco muttered, not realizing he was accepting the invitation.

"All right then, I live just down the street, and I do have a decent bottle of wine for guests, I don't however have any guests to share it with." Harry let his words rest in the air.

The scared face of Draco Malfoy looked up at him. "Are you sure?" it said.

"Very," Harry offered a hand to the man, who was still sitting on the ground, and the man accepted it. "If you would be so kind as to follow me." Draco nodded and followed, trying to breathe properly. He might as well go with Harry; he would be in trouble when he got home for taking so long, he might as well have a decent glass of wine with someone he did love, before being half beaten to death by someone he didn't. "You're awfully quiet tonight, something on your mind?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Tsk tsk, I know you better than that, now what's the matter?"

Draco wasn't sure how Harry could fall so easily into such an old role, it had been years since they had even laid eyes on each other. Draco was finding it much harder.

"Why did you ask me to a drink?" he asked suddenly, not sure why.

Harry sighed beside him and opened the apartment they had just come to. "I'm not sure, other than the fact that I couldn't stand you sitting and drinking such cheap wine by yourself, or with a guest, but since you did come I'm guessing it would have been by yourself."

"I wouldn't have been by myself, I have a boyfriend, and now I can't go home," he mumbled, not at all sure what had possessed him to let something like that slip.

"And why's that?" Harry asked, pulling the wine off the top of the refrigerator and the wine glasses out of the cupboard.

"I've been a very long time to just be getting a bottle of wine, especially since I don't even have a bottle of wine."

"I'm sure he won't mind."

"He will," Draco said darkly.

"Well you'll just have to stay here then."

Draco looked up sharply as Harry settled next to him on the couch. "What?"

"Well if you can't go home then you'll just have to stay here." Harry leaned towards him. Draco's breath hitched in his throat, and Harry handed him one of the wine glasses.

"Oh, thank you then."

"My pleasure," Harry said. "And I'm sorry."

"For what?" What did Harry have to be sorry for? Draco should be the one apologizing.

"This," Harry mumbled, leaning forward and kissing Draco squarely on the lips.

Draco's wine glass slipped from his grasp and clattered on the floor, breaking. Harry jumped and pulled away. "Sorry," Draco said.

"Don't worry about it," Harry said. "Do you still want to stay the night?" Draco nodded. "Do you want the bed or the couch?"

"Which one will you have?"

"You pick first."

"Go on, which one do you want?"

"Well I'd like the bed, but you're welcome to it."

"How about we share the bed?" Draco asked carefully.

"That sounds wonderful," Harry said, setting down his glass and picking up Draco's hand to lead him into the bedroom.

A/N this was much better, and then my word program decided to have immense issues and erase half of it, I went screaming in to the living room almost in tears and now I still want to cry. I HATE my fucking computer. So now you know why it sucks. This was supposed to be fluff, I don't know why I tried to write fluff today, I'm in a horrible mood and I fucking HATE valentines day and I hate all the fucking cheer and happiness and flowers and I especially fucking HATE all the fucking PINK! Now you know were Draco got his views. Thank you for reading thought I doubt you liked it. Oh before I forget I was going to name this

Pointless Post-War Ignoring the Event at the end of Ootp Valentines Day Fluffy Slash, but that's to long a Title so I'll just call it:

But that doesn't fit anymore at all, it was going to be RL/SB as well as HP/DM but that didn't work out, as you can see. It was also going to be fluff that also didn't work. It was also going to be plot less again didn't work. It is however post-war and slash. Thank you for putting up with it and my ranting. Review please.

Xandria Nirvana

Look at me with my pointlessly long A/N ok here's the deal I wrote this the day before Valentines, I promise, but I am internet less and I have to take it on a disk to send it to my beta (hello beta) and then when she sends it back I'll post it, so I apologize for all the inconvenience and the fact that its probably way long pas t Valentines, I hope you had fun anyway, I didn't. Smiles. (I hope).


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